Improvement in toy-carriages



UNITED STATES CHARLES o. JOHNSON, OF SOUTH GARDITNER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOY-CARRIAGE S.

Specification forming part of Letters PatentNo. 131,688, dated'September24, 1872; anteda ted September To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. J OHNSON, of South Gardiner, in thecounty of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented anImprovement in Toy-Carriages, 850.; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing,

taken in connection with the drawing which riages. The invention hasreference, first, to

the construction of the body; and consists in formingthe' body withrounded corners by using for each corner joint a connector having acurved outer face and a diagonal inner face, the diagonal inner facebeing innermostiand facing the inside of the body and having two groovesor mortises, into which the ends of the adjacent boards fit and enter."The invention has-reference, secondly, to the manner of connecting athird or leader wheel to the body; and consists in han ging the oppositeends of the wheel axle or gudgeons in bearings in the ends of curvedcast-metal arms, the opposite ends of such arms being formed withhorizontal top faces to fit against the under surface of the Wagon orcarriage body, a clamp-plate being provided with two grooves orrecesses, into which the two straight parts of the arms fit, theclampplate being screwed against or up toward the bottom of thecarriage-body and clamping the bearings or axle-supporting arms tightlyin position. a g

The drawing shows, in bottom view and in side elevation, a carriage-bodyembodying my invention. r

a denotes the front board; I), the rear board; 0 c, the two side boards;and d, the bottom of the body. 6 denotes one of the two rear wheels f,the leader or third wheel, the two wheels 0 running on the opposite'endsof an axle, g, fastened directly to the bottom of the body, while thefront wheel f turns on an axle-pin the opposite ends of which aresupported in bearings in the ends of arms h, these bearings being holesbored, or cast in the ends of the arms in line with the axle. The twoarms h h are cast independently, and each is curved and has at its endopposite the axle-bearing a straight arm, c, at the outer end of whichis a projection, is. The straight arms '5 being placed against thebottom of the carriagebody,,a clamp-plate, Z, is placed over them,(recesses m in the plate fitting over the arms 6,) and the plate beingscrewed to or toward the body, the bearings are thereby fastened inposition. By means of the movable bearings the axle may be adjusted inposition for the wheel to run easily and correctly, and the arms maythen be fastened by the clampplate. Furthermore, by thus making thebearing-arms they have to be cast only with the axle-pin holes, (one ineach,) instead of with such holes and holes to fasten the bearing to thebody. Connecting the two adjacent ends of the front and side boards, andside and rear boards, at each corner of the body, is a corner piece, a.Said piece is a quarter-round on its outer surface,'the two oppositesides of the curve'running tangentially into the adjacent surfaces ofthe body-boards, and at each end of the curve is a square shoulder,

o, from which extends a groove or mortise, p, the adjacent board beingmade with a shoulder, q, to fit against the shoulder o, and a tenon, r,fitting into the mortise, the inner surface of the corner piece orconnector being diagonal, or extending straight across from tenon totenon, as seen at s. -Theshoulders, tenons, and mortises being allformed to tightly and accurately fit the boards, are joined by theconnectors, and, being glued together, need no nails or other fasteningsto make them secure; and the corners of the body are smooth and freefromfastenings,

which are liable to get loose and form catches by which clothing will betorn. At 0 I show the joint enlarged, and at D a modification, in which,by making the outer surface of the connector with a swell, t, the edgesof the boards a. b c are keptof full thickness, the mortises which theedges enter being made of such width that the edges fit into them.

I claim 4 the boards fitting thereinto, substantially as 1. Theaxle-bearing arms h h, formed as shown and described. shown anddescribed, and secured to the bot- CHARLES C. JOHNSON. tom of the bodyby the clamp-plate l. Witnesses:

2. The wagon-body having its side and end FRANCIS GOULD, boards unitedby the connectors, said connect- S. B. KIDDEB,

ors being mortised and the edges or tenons of CHAS. A. KmmALL.

